


for now

by sataninacape



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, almost entirely pedro pov!! so please don't expect anything raunchy lol, also pedro and josie are best friends bc that's some good kush b :), pedro and penelope are cousins because! i said so!, this was supposed to be a drabble for twt but then i got carried away so here we are heh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-15 21:23:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19304110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sataninacape/pseuds/sataninacape
Summary: in which pedro watches josie saltzman and penelope park fall in love, fall apart, and everything in between.





	for now

**Author's Note:**

> "posie through pedro pov" - anon in my cc
> 
> this one's for you :)

When Pedro Park arrives at Salvatore School for the Young & Gifted, he is both young and gifted.

 

He is six years old and comes from a bloodline of powerful witches and has years of unearthed magic coursing through his veins and-

 

He is absolutely terrified of this place.

 

Not of the other witches or the vampires or even the werewolves, really. The supernatural he can deal with.

 

What Pedro can't handle is the children.

 

All the five year olds and six year olds and seven year olds that think they're all that, with their fancy toys and elaborate games. It's only been a week of trying to keep up with them and Pedro is already exhausted.

 

Which is why, the second Charms is over on Friday afternoon and Pedro is free from the confines of his treacherous classmates for the weekend, he bolts over to the library. Pedro sighs in relief when he realizes that the room is entirely deserted, aside from a staff member or two.

 

They smile at him. He waves back.

 

And then Pedro makes his way around the room in search of picture books, running his hand over each shelf he passes.

 

Eventually, Pedro spots a sign that reads something with the word Children, so he turns the corner into the row and-

 

"Oof."

 

"Pedro? I'm so sorry! Are you okay? I didn't realize-"

 

There are tears stinging in his eyes and Pedro wants to cry. Partly because his knees sting, but mostly because he misses his family. He misses his brother and his sister and their dads and their cats and-

 

The brown-haired, headmaster's daughter is looking at him with wide eyes and creased brows and he thinks he probably shouldn't cry right now.

 

"It's okay. It's my fault I wasn't looking-"

 

Josie shakes her head. "Pedro, _I'm_ the one who tripped _you_. This is so not your fault, buddy."

 

He doesn't mean to cry. But something about Josie Saltzman reminds Pedro of his older sister, so he sits with his back against the books and the tears tumble over his cheeks anyway.

 

"Oh gosh," Josie whispers to herself. "I just made a kid cry. I _tripped_ him and made him _cry_ , oh my-"

 

Pedro rubs his eyes, brings his knees to his chest to make himself smaller. The older girl stops talking to herself and tries again. She presses her lips into a cautious smile.

 

"Hey," she starts, bookmarking her page before setting her book to the side. "I'm really sorry I tripped you, Pedro. Are you okay? Do you want me to take you to the nurse?"

 

He shakes his head. "I don't want to go to the nurse."

 

Josie frowns.

 

"I just want to go home," he adds.

 

Her features light up with realization.

 

 _"Oh_ ," Josie sighs. "Oh. This is your first week here, isn't it, buddy?"

 

Pedro nods. Josie smiles gently.

 

"It's hard, isn't it? Not having your own bed, being around people all the time, -"

 

"I thought you were supposed to be making me feel better," Pedro sniffles. "Not worse."

 

Josie laughs. "Sorry. I'm not very good at this."

 

He shrugs. "It's okay."

 

And then they're staring at each other and Josie looks like she wants to say something, anything, to make him feel better. But Pedro spies the book in her hands and when he realizes that Harry Potter is riding a broomstick across the cover, his heart immediately leaps and his skinned knee, his longing for home, is forgotten.

 

"Is that the first one?"

 

Josie follows his gaze to her book and grins.

 

"Yeah, I just picked it up today. Have you read it?"

 

Pedro laughs. "Miss Josie, I'm only six years old. I can't read chapter books yet."

 

The older girl smiles sheepishly in response. "Right, sorry. And you don't have to call me-"

 

"My sister read it to me," he tells her. Pedro shifts so his back is pressed against the same shelf as Josie's and he picks up the book, grins down at the cover. "We just finished The Prisoner of Azkaban."

 

"Oh, that one's my favorite!"

 

Pedro tilts his head. "You've read it? But how come you're only on the first one then?"

 

Josie flushes. "This isn't my first rodeo, bud."

 

She pauses and then Pedro watches her eyes light up.

 

"Hey, actually, I have an idea." 

 

And this is how it starts.

 

This is how Pedro Park and Josie Saltzman form their bookclub for two.

 

Bookclub mostly consists of Josie reading out loud and Pedro following along over her shoulder. Sometimes, they talk too, but Pedro usually prefers reading to talking.

 

Eventually, they finish the Harry Potter series, and Pedro insists on Percy Jackson and the Olympians next. Naturally, Josie complies. 

 

And then, one day, when they're halfway through The Titan's Curse, bookclub for two becomes bookclub for three.

 

* * *

 

Pedro is seven years old when word gets around that another Park is coming to the school.

 

Even though he can count on both hands the number of time he's met Penelope, Pedro immediately hopes it's the green-eyed girl because every time they've met, Penelope has taught him something new.

 

Once, it was a spell or two. Another time, it was how to cause a ruckus and get away with it too.

 

Pedro smiles at the memories because he's always liked to learn, and he wonders what Penelope Park will teach him this time around.

 

(Never in a million years did Pedro think that his older cousin would be giving him a lesson on love.)

 

* * *

 

"And this is where me and Josie read every Saturday," Pedro tells Penelope, tugging on her hand as they make their way towards the corner of the library.

 

"Slow down, kid," Penelope laughs, struggling to keep up with the curly-haired boy. "And who's Josie? Does little Pedro have a girlfr-?"

 

Pedro halts, grins when he recognizes the brown-eyed girl looking up from a stack of books.

 

"Miss Josie is not my girlfriend," Pedro tells his cousin. "That's illegal and, you know, that's very heteronormative of you to assume."

 

Josie smiles, reaches over for a fist bump. "Looks like MG's teaching you kids well."

 

Penelope looks from Pedro to Josie, back to Pedro, and then to Josie again. Her eyes linger on Josie's and Pedro waits for her to say something, but Penelope seems to have lost her voice.

 

Pedro frowns. He's never seen his cousin at a loss for words. "Are you okay?"

 

She shakes her head, eyes wide. "No. I'm dad."

 

Josie's eyebrows arch and she lets out a giggle. 

 

"I mean Penelope," his cousin blushes. "I'm Penelope. And this is Pedro. My cousin."

 

Penelope nudges Pedro forward and he looks back at her confused. "She knows that already."

 

"Right," Penelope laughs, tugs on the ends of her hair. 

 

Pedro narrows his eyes and looks between the girls. Josie is bitting on her bottom lip to hold back a laugh. Penelope is shuffling from one foot to the other.

 

Josie speaks up eventually. "Penelope Park. You're new here, aren't you?"

 

Penelope nods. Josie smiles.

 

"I'm Josie Saltzman. Pedro's friend."

 

Pedro beams. Penelope grins. "Cool."

 

And then they stand there and neither of the girls say anything and Pedro sighs because he should probably take matters into his own hands.

 

He looks up at Penelope, conjures his best puppy dog eyes. "Do you want to read with us?"

 

His cousin doesn't even hesitate. "Of course. What are we reading?"

 

Pedro pauses because he feels like he should lighten up the tension in the room with a joke. He thinks back to last week, attempts to recall the name of that inappropriate book that Lizzie was talking about-

 

"Fifty Shades of-"

 

Penelope gasps. Josie sputters, cuts him off immediately.

 

"Ignore him! I promise we're not, Lizzie's just corrupted his sense of humor."

 

Pedro watches his cousin pull out a chair at the head of the table, and she gestures for him to sit before taking her own seat opposite Josie, who's observing them with pink cheeks.

 

"Sure," Penelope starts, eyes glinting with mischief. "But then again, if I'd known those are the kind of things that kids learn at this school, I probably would have transferred here earlier."

 

Pedro doesn't have to understand the joke to understand that Josie's reaction to it is exactly what his cousin was going for.

 

Josie blushes a darker pink and avoids Penelope's eyes, reaching for the Rick Riordan novel and flipping through the pages.

 

"Anyway," she clears her throat. "Chapter fifteen.  _I Wrestle Santa's Evil Twin-_ "

 

Pedro perks up, shuffles to the edge of his chair. Josie reads the next two chapters with exaggerated voices and facial expressions.

 

Pedro notices, out of the corner of his eye, that Penelope's own gaze doesn't fall from Josie once. And then it's Penelope's turn to read and Pedro watches Josie watch his cousin and he hums to himself.

 

Time to put on his Matchmaker's Bowtie.

 

It's three weeks later and the middle of the night and Pedro is on a mission. Luckily, he knows exactly where to find the girl he's looking for.

 

"Lizzie, I need your help."

 

The blonde startles from her spot on the kitchen counter, looks down at him with wide eyes. "Not now Pedro, I'm busy."

 

He regards the slice of bread in her left hand, the knife lathered with peanut butter in her right. "You're making a sandwich."

 

"Like I said, I'm  _busy_."

 

Pedro sighs, climbing up on the counter to sit next to her. "It's about your sister."

 

Lizzie places the knife down immediately, frowns at the curly-haired boy.

 

"What's wrong? Did something happen to Josie? Should I-"

 

Pedro shakes his head. "Nothing's wrong, it's just-"

 

He looks around to make sure nobody's listening in on their conversation. 

 

"What is it?" Lizzie groans, impatiently. "Spit it out, bud."

 

Pedro pauses. "I think your sister and my cousin like each other."

 

Lizzie blanches. 

 

"Your  _cousin_? As in Penelope Park? _Josie_ and  _Penelope_?  _What_? There's no way, Pedro. That's-" And then Lizzie stops herself short and her lips fall into an oval. "Actually, you know what? That makes sense. Josie's been all giddy and flustered for the last month or so, which is around the time that your cousin got here, so- But actually, that's weird. She hasn't said anything to me about it. And, anyway, I haven't even seen them talk to each other, so-"

 

"We have a bookclub," Pedro cuts her off. "Josie and Penelope and me. We read together on Saturdays. I mean, we're _supposed_  to read together, but they've been doing more staring than reading for the last few meetings. It's kind of annoying, actually, because I just want to find out if Percy-"

 

Lizzie puts up her hand. "Pedro, stop making this about you. This is about _my_ baby sister-"

 

"I thought you two were twins."

 

"-and her first crush-"

 

"How do you know this is her first?"

 

The blonde-haired girl closes her eyes and takes a bite of her sandwich.

 

She opens her eyes. "You guys have a bookclub?"

 

Pedro nods.

 

"First of all, that's the nerdiest thing ever. Just wait until I tell Penelope's disciples about this," Lizzie cackles. "And second of all- I have an idea."

 

* * *

 

It's just past noon the next day when Lizzie and Pedro's plan starts falling into action. Step one involves Pedro sleeping in and feeling just a little guilty when his cousin burst into his dorm room in a panic.

 

"Hey, I didn't see you during breakfast," Penelope starts, walking over to his mattress with a frown. "Are you okay, buddy?"

 

"Penny," Pedro groans, pulling his blanket to his chin. "I don't feel so good."

 

Penelope looks down at him in alarm, places a hand on his forehead. "What's wrong, P? Should I take you to the nurse?"

 

Pedro shakes his head, fakes a cough. "No nurse. I think I just need to sleep some more."

 

The green-eyed witch looks unconvinced, and Pedro struggles to craft a convincing lie, but thinks back to what his cousin taught him all those years ago.

 

 _When things aren't going your way, just look cute and bat your lashes._  

 

Pedro rubs his eyes, blinks twice.

 

"Alright," Penelope sighs, tousles his hair. "Rest up, buddy."

 

She plants a kiss to his forehead and takes a step back to retreat but Pedro reaches for his cousin's wrist before she can walk away. 

 

"Can you please tell Miss Josie that I can't make it to today's bookclub."

 

Penelope's eyes dance and her cheeks tint red and her lips tug upwards and Pedro fights a knowing grin. "Sure thing. I'll come to check on you in a little while, okay?"

 

Pedro nods. "Okay."

 

* * *

 

A few minutes after Penelope leaves, Lizzie shows up to Pedro's dorm. She has a glass of milk in one hand and a plate of breakfast in the other.

 

"Eat up, kid. We're going to the library to spy on Posie."

 

Pedro leaps out of bed, accepts the food.

 

"What's a Posie?" He asks between bites.

 

Lizzie grins. "It's Josie and Penelope's ship name? Isn't it cute? I thought of it myself. Okay, maybe Milton helped too, but-"

 

"What's a ship name?"

 

The blonde sighs. "Kid, you have so much to learn."

 

* * *

 

They make their way to the library, sneak between bookcases quietly, and spy on Josie and Penelope from afar.

 

"What are they doing?" Pedro whispers. "I can't see."

 

Lizzie hushes him, squints at the girls. She observes for a minute before responding.

 

"They're- They're reading."

 

Pedro tilts his head. "What?"

 

"They're reading," Lizzie repeats. "They're just sitting there and  _reading._ "

 

"To each other?"

 

She shakes her head. "No. Different books."

 

Pedro groans. "What a nightmare."

 

Lizzie rolls her eyes and starts to say something before cutting herself off excitedly. "Wait, Josie just put her book down."

 

The younger boy struggles to his tippy toes, but still ends up short. "What now?"

 

The Saltzman Sister grins down at him. "I don't know what she said, but Penelope just laughed. That's my girl."

 

Pedro smiles. 

 

Because this is how it starts.

 

This is how Penelope Park and Josie Saltzman fall in love.

 

Over library books and stolen glances and dad jokes and Pedro's curly hair.

 

In between bookshelves and behind Lizzie's back and during the ninth grade.

 

* * *

 

It takes them two months to start dating and Pedro is elated, but he's also frankly a little concerned that bookclub is going to be awkward, now that he's the third wheel and all. Of course, Josie and Penelope prove him wrong immediately.

 

They prove him wrong every other Saturday when they refrain from PDA in front of him, only playing footsie under the table, beyond Pedro's view.

 

They prove him wrong every other Sunday when Josie holds his left hand and Penelope holds his right and they walk between buildings, talking Harry Potter and Percy Jackson and whatever Pedro wants to talk about.

 

And it's nice. Because, sometimes, Pedro still feels like he doesn't fit in with the other kids. He still prefers books to real life. He still misses his family. He still misses his home.

 

But one Friday night, on his eighth birthday, Pedro decides it's not so bad anymore. Because, sometimes, Josie and Penelope feel like his second family. Like his home away from home.

 

And Pedro thinks he wouldn't trade them for the world, thinks he doesn't want this to end.

 

So, that night, when Pedro blows out his candles, he makes a wish.

 

A wish for Penelope and Josie to always be his family. A wish for bookclub to last forever. A wish for Penelope and Josie to stay in love forever.

 

At first, Pedro thinks his wish comes true, because, for the next few months, nothing changes. They still exist in their own bubble in the corner of the library, in the middle of Mystic Falls.

 

And then, one day, towards the end of January, Josie doesn't show up for bookclub and Penelope doesn't say why.

  
Pedro wants so desperately to pester her until she breaks, to throw a fit for Josie to come back. Because Pedro adores his cousin, but Penelope doesn't do the voices quite the same as Josie does. And the brown-eyed girl has never, ever missed a Saturday, so Pedro can't fathom why she'd start now.

 

But Penelope looks at him with sad eyes and a silent explanation and Pedro decides to refrain from whining. Instead, he tugs the book from her hands tells her that they can read next week.

 

"Are you sure?" Penelope asks him.

 

Pedro nods. "A few kids asked me if I want to play with them outside."

 

It's not a lie, but Pedro didn't think he'd actually take them up on their offer. Penelope smiles at him. It doesn't quite reach her eyes.

 

"Okay. But make sure to take a jacket, alright?"

 

He rolls his eyes and tugs Penelope into a hug before making his way outside.

 

* * *

 

"I think they broke up," Lizzie tells him over burnt cookies that night.

 

"What do you mean you  _think_?" Pedro frowns, fishing a piece out of his mug of milk.

 

"I mean, Josie didn't say anything about it, but she hasn't said anything  _at all_  since yesterday, and neither has Penelope, so I'm assuming-"

 

"They broke up," Pedro whispers.

 

Lizzie nods. 

 

Pedro sighs, kicks at the leg of a chair. "I knew birthday wishes were dumb."

 

The blue-eyed girl tilts her head at him, so Pedro explains.

 

"I wished that Penelope and Josie would stay in love forever."

 

"Pedro," Lizzie sighs. "That's not dumb. And, listen, even if they did break up, I don't think-"

 

She pauses. Pedro frowns. "What is it?"

"Nothing. It's just weird that I'm talking about love with an eight year old."

 

Pedro rolls his eyes. "Miss Lizzie, no offense, but that's never stopped you before."

 

Lizzie considers this and caves eventually, picking up where she left off. 

 

"Listen, Pedro. Love is complicated. And the thing is, sometimes, people can be in love without being together."

 

He blinks. 

 

"Does that make sense?"

 

Pedro shakes his head. "No. That's dumb. If you love someone, why would you not want to be with them?"

 

Lizzie parts her lips. She looks like she has a lot to say, but she shakes her head, decides against it. "I don't know, kid. All I know is, Josie must have had a really good reason for breaking up with Penelope."

 

Pedro quirks his head. "How do you know it wasn't the other way around?"

 

Lizzie shrugs. "Penelope Park would never break my sister's heart, I made her promise when they got together. Besides, your cousin can be annoying, but I know she keeps her word."

 

* * *

 

A few days later, when Lizzie learns that Penelope didn't keep her word, all hell breaks loose.

 

And somehow, Pedro gets caught in the crossfire.

 

And somehow, Pedro loses not one, but three of his best friends in the span of a week. 

 

And it sucks.

 

Because Pedro thought what he and Josie and Penelope had was forever.

 

He thought what Josie and Penelope had was forever.

 

But, at the tender age of eight, Pedro learns that Forever is a scam. That, sometimes, people only fall in love to fall apart.

 

He learns this by watching his cousin break Josie Saltzman's heart.

 

By watching Penelope pine after her anyway. By watching Josie shut her out, retreat into her shell. By watching his cousin deflate, break her own heart along the way.

 

Still, Pedro holds out hope for another bookclub meeting, another Sunday in the city, another midnight snack with Lizzie.

 

And then, Penelope tells him she's moving to Europe, and she leaves with what little hope Pedro had to begin with.

 

She leaves and Pedro feels like he's six years old again. Small and terrified and alone.

 

* * *

 

A few days after Miss Mystic Falls, Josie Saltzman trips over his feet in a corner of the library and Pedro remembers that he's not as alone as he feels.

 

She pushes herself off the floor, sits upright. "Hey, Pedro."

 

"Hi."

 

"Mind if I join you?"

 

He shrugs. They sit there in silence for a few beats before Pedro decides to further the conversation, ask her the question that's been nagging him for days.

 

"Did you know she was leaving?"

 

Josie doesn't have to ask who he's talking about. She just sighs, avoids his eyes. "It's complicated, P."

 

"Why?"

 

"Why what?"

 

"Why does it have to be complicated? If you loved each other, why did she break up with you? Why did she leave?"

 

There are tears in Josie's eyes and Pedro realizes he's said too much. He looks down, backtracks.

 

"I'm sorry, Miss Josie, I didn't mean to-"

 

She laughs a little, rubs at her eyes. "It's okay, Pedro. And please stop calling me that."

 

He nods, even though they both know he's not stopping now.

 

"I don't know why your cousin did half the things she did," Josie mutters eventually. "I don't know, buddy."

 

"Do you hate her?"

 

Josie blinks at the question, clearly caught off guard, but he needs to know.

 

She purses her lips. "No. I hate some of the things she did, but I could never hate her."

 

Pedro thinks back to his cousin's tear-streaked face the night she hugged him goodbye. "Does she know that?"

 

Josie pauses. Pedro stares at her. When she doesn't respond, Pedro thinks maybe he should change the subject.

 

"Hey," he tells her, reaching for a book. "I have an idea."

 

* * *

 

Bookclub meet on Saturdays and Sundays now, and sometimes Lizzie joins them too. 

 

It takes them until halfway through the next year, but they eventually finish every Rick Riordan book they can get their hands on, and Pedro thinks his cousin would have been so elated if she were here. 

 

Pedro frowns at the thought because they don't talk about Penelope much, not really. But sometimes, Josie will trip up and swap a character's name for his cousin's and Pedro will look up to see if she notices. She never does. 

 

Josie keeps reading and Pedro keeps listening and he finally gets used to this. Gets used to the way things were, before his cousin came to town. 

 

And then comes his tenth birthday and Pedro remembers last year's wish. Maybe it was dumb, but maybe it doesn't hurt to try again. 

 

So he shuts his eyes tight, crosses his fingers, and blows out the candles. This time, he wishes for Penelope to come back. For Josie and Penelope to get their happily ever after.

 

When Lizzie asks him about it later that night, over left-over birthday cake, Pedro relays his wish to her. He waits for her to scoff, roll her eyes.

 

Instead, she looks over his shoulder and just sighs.

 

"What's that saying about the devil?"

 

Pedro racks his brain. "Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear?"

 

"That's the one."

 

"Lizzie," a voice rings out from behind him. "No need to corrupt my baby cousin."

 

 _"Well,_  no need to break my sister's heart, Satan," Lizzie mocks in response. 

 

Pedro turns around, and his mouth falls open. He drops his spoon to the table, leaves his cake half-eaten. "Penny!"

 

She grins down at her cousin, tugs him into a hug.

 

"My god, P, looks like someone grew a foot."

 

Pedro flashes her his dimples, stands up a little taller. "Yeah, and it definitely wasn't you."

Lizzie barks out a laugh from behind him and Penelope scoffs. "What on earth did you teach him while I was gone?"

 

The blonde open her mouth to respond but Pedro cuts her off. 

 

"Are you really back?" He bounces up and down, but deflates when a thought occurs to him. "Or are you just visiting?"

 

Penelope reaches for his hair and Pedro takes a step back. Her eyebrows tug together but Pedro needs to know. 

 

"I'm back, buddy," she tells him. "For good. I promise."

 

He shuffles forward, smiles at her. "Okay."

 

"Happy Birthday, by the way," Penelope continues. "I can't believe you hit double digits, Pedro. You're practically an adult. _God_. Happy Birthday."

 

Pedro laughs, hugs her again. "It is now."

 

So maybe birthday wishes aren't so dumb after all.

 

* * *

 

"Have you seen Josie?" Penelope asks him the next morning after breakfast. "I want to, you know, catch up with her before word gets around that I'm-"

 

Penelope cuts herself off, drums her fingers on the table, tapping away her nerves. Pedro nods.

 

 _Finally_ , he thinks.

 

"She's probably in the library."

 

He's right. Josie is in the library, standing in the same aisle the Pedro tripped in all those years ago. Pedro hears Penelope's breath hitch, watches her lips part the second a certain brunette comes into view.

 

He clears his throat, nudges Penelope forward. "Hi, Miss Josie."

 

"Hey, buddy, I was just picking out our next-"

 

She turns. Pedro watches Josie's breath catch, her eyes storm.

 

Pedro watches the girls stare at each other for what feels like forever, except, he scolds himself because he remembers again that forever is a scam.

 

He remembers that there's no such thing as _forever._ There's only _for now_.

 

And, for now, it feels like Penelope and Josie are the only two people in the room.

 

Which, Pedro knows is not true, but the way Penelope is looking at Josie makes him think otherwise. Somehow, it feels like he's invading on a moment that's meant just for them. 

 

"Hi," Penelope says, eventually. Pedro watches her take a cautious step forward.

 

"Hey." Josie's feet carry her one step closer too and Pedro smiles. 

 

Out of the corner of his eye, he spies a group of kids from his Charms class gathering at a table together. A boy with ginger hair and a sunny smile waves at him. Pedro waves back. He thinks this is his cue to leave.

 

So he takes one last look at Penelope and Josie and hums out loud.

 

Because maybe it sucked to watch them fall in love only to fall apart.

 

But maybe love is never linear.

 

Maybe, sometimes, people need to fall apart in order to realize exactly how they fit into each other's lives.

 

So whether Penelope and Josie will decide to be just friends or something less, something more, Pedro thinks it's alright.

 

Because, either way, his family is together again and he doesn't think he would trade this for the world.

 

Pedro takes a step back, turns around, and walks towards the opposite end of the library. Towards a new family, he hopes.

 

* * *

 

Brown eyes skim brown skin and Josie's heart stops.

 

Penelope's lips part, her tongue stings with all the things she never got to say.

 

"Your hair is shorter."

 

"Your hair is longer."

 

Their words bump into each other and Penelope lets out a nervous laugh.

 

"Yeah," Penelope hesitates because she isn't quite sure what to say first.

 

She settles for something light-hearted, something to ease the tension. "I figured I'd let it grow out in case you wanted to burn it off again."

 

It works. The air between them simmers down and when Josie rolls her eyes, lets out a gentle laugh, Penelope forgets how to breathe. Just like old times.

 

Penelope waits for a response, but Josie doesn't say anything. Doesn't trust her voice. Instead, Josie turns back to the books on the shelf, trails her finger along the spines.

 

"What are you doing?"

 

A pause.

 

"Trying to figure out what to read next," Josie tells her. "You know, for bookclub and all."

 

Penelope choses her next words carefully. Takes a breath.

 

"Any chance you guys have an empty chair to spare?"

 

Josie considers this. "Depends. Do you have any book recommendations?"

 

Penelope holds her breath, takes a step towards the shelf. She eyes the books, searches for the Rs.

 

When Penelope finds a book with a familiar blue cover, rusty gold letters, she pulls it out and extends it to Josie.

 

"How about this one?"

 

Josie stares at the book in her hand. It's The Titan's Curse. It's their beginning.

 

Penelope's stomach churns with nerves because this is her way of asking for a do-over. A fresh start.

 

So when Josie shakes her head, turns to the shelf, Penelope's heart drops because she thinks this is it. The end.

 

But then Josie flashes her a different book, another familiar cover, and her heart soars.

 

It's The House of Hades. The last book they read together, before the break up, before everything fell apart.

 

"How about-" Josie closes her eyes, lets out a sigh. "How about we pick up where we left off instead?"

 

Her voice is a whisper. Penelope doesn't have to strain to hear it because it screams like a choir in her ears. 

 

"I'd like that," Penelope tells her. 

 

Josie opens her eyes. "Me too."

 

And then they're standing there, staring at each other, and Penelope wants so badly to reach out, press their foreheads together, place her lips on Josie's.

 

Penelope wants so badly to [melt the ice and just swim](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9fDHlz_A78).

 

But she thinks it's not her place to play the instigator this time around. She thinks it's Josie's turn to make the first move.

 

And she wants to wait, to give Josie time before rushing into it, but Penelope can't keep the words from falling from her lips. "I'm sorry I left."

 

Josie shakes her head, takes a step forward. "I'm sorry I let you."

 

Penelope blinks. 

 

"And I don't."

 

"Don't what?"

 

Penelope doesn't know when the other girl set the book aside, but somehow, Josie's hands are empty and burning against her skin, cupping her cheeks.

 

"I don't hate you, Penelope," Josie tells her. She nudges her forehead against Penelope's. "I never did."

 

Josie's words melt against her skin and the green-eyed girl loses her voice, forgets how to think.

 

Because, okay, maybe it's not i-love-you. But maybe it is.

 

And, either way, Penelope's eyes flutter shut and her lips tug upwards.

 

"I know."

 

Because maybe it's not Forever. 

 

But maybe their lips brush and their hearts sync and maybe this is more than enough.

 

For Josie.

 

For Penelope.

 

For now.

**Author's Note:**

> .  
> ..  
> ...  
> ....
> 
> hello  
> there B)
> 
> what's up how are you it's been a minute i hope you're well !!!
> 
> so! this was!! weird to write! (because i've never really had to think as a six/seven/eight/nine year old boy you know?) but, like, good weird, so! i hope you enjoyed it!!  
> also i feel like i screwed up on time line/how old they are at one point or another because it's nearly three in the morni. and i'm sleeping right now, like i'm unconsciously typing this! idk it be like that sometimes bro, but! if you spot mistakes! pls lmk!! what to fix!!!
> 
> okay, i think that's all! thanks :)
> 
> oh, yep, also! you can find me on the tweeter! @sataninacape


End file.
